Rich cultural history
The history of the area
The cultural history of the National Park includes many episodes in Denmark’s history, from ancient times to the present.
This area has been inhabited and cultivated for millenniums. The light, sandy soil in the vegetated landscape of Mols Bjerge was easily exhausted and only a small part was ever cultivated, and much of the land was either left as heath or was abandoned, then returning to heathland
From small units to larger units
Mols or Mulnæs, as it was named originally, is the name of a former judicial district - Mols Herred - the home of the famous „molboer“or inhabitants of Mols. Stories of the sometimes dull-witted, sometimes canny molboer have been published since the late 1700s.
The early medieval history of Djursland is closely associated with the nobleman Marsk Stig, who, along with other men, was outlawed for the murder of the Danish king Erik Klipping at Finderup Barn (in central Jutland) in 1286. They later settled on the island Hjelm close to Ebeltoft, where they built a castle and engaged in acts of piracy and the minting of counterfeit Danish coins.
In Tinghulen in the midst of Mols Bjerge, which was the boundary between several municipalities, the Court Mols Herredsting held its open air meetings. Originally Mols Herred included only the municipalities of Agri, Egens, Rolsø, Vistoft, Knebel and Tved. In 1688 Helgenæs, Dråby and Ebeltoft were included and from that time Ebeltoft also became the location for the Court’s meetings, through to 1756.